M51: The Whirlpool Galaxy
Find the Big Dipper andfollow the handle away from the dipper’s bowluntil you get to the last bright star.Then, just slide your telescope a little south and west andyou’llcome upon this stunning pair of interacting galaxies,the 51st entryin Charles Messier’s famous catalog.Perhaps theoriginal spiral nebula,the large galaxy withwell defined spiral structure is also cataloged as NGC 5194.
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